Wheel-cultivator



(No Model.)

L. G. GHAPIN.

' WHEEL GULTIVATOR. No. 285,797. Patented Oct. ,2, 1883.

I PUNTTED. STATES j PATENT O FI E.

" LEBEUS C. GHAPIN, OFKALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN.

WHEEL-CULTIVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 285,797, dated October 2, 1883.

Application filed June 2,-l883. (X0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known'that I, LEnEUs-O. CIIAPIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kalamazoo, county of Kalamazoo, State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful i/Vheel- Cultivator, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has for its object eertain'improvements in wheel-cultivators to facilitate the operation and simplify construction.

The leading feature of my invention consists in combining independentlyhinged tooth-bars having a spring located upon each, a crossbar connecting the upper end of said springs, and a lifting-lever connecting with said crossbar, with a steel spring pressure-bar so constructed and arranged in relation to the lifting-lever that a ready and convenient elastic control may be exerted on the springs of the independently-hinged tooth-bars.

In the drawings forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a cross-section and side elevation of the device; Fig. 2, a side elevation of the lifting-lever and spring pressure-bar, enlarged, looking from the opposite side to that in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a broken lower end of spring pressure-barin perspective; Figs. 4, 5, 6, detached parts hereinafter described; Fig. 7, a broken rear view of part of the cultivator, and Fig. 8 a change in the hook in Fig. 4.

D is the wheel-frame, F F independentlyhinged tooth-bars, S S tooth-bar springs, f

cross connecting-bar to said springs, B the.

lifting-lever, R the ratchet-wheel, and t the draft-rods to the hinging-rod, all, generally considered, well known. in the prior state of the art. In the well-understood control of the springs S S by raising and lowering the lifting-lever and looking it with the ratchet R at different positions, to effectthe desired result requires the constant exertion of the operator in soilof va g consistency and nonuniforrnity in surface. The best results are attained by an elastic control of the tooth-bar springs by means of a spring pressure-bar, O. This bar is made in the form of a letter S, with a rearwardly-extending arm, the whole made from elastic spring metal. The lower bow has an elongated slot, y, and is adj ustably secured in a curved seat by the side of the of the hook 1-.

through beamP of the frame D. By this means the bar 0 can be set at the most convenient angle to be operated, and to conform with the desired angle of the lifting-lever.

ratchet B, by a bolt located in said 810i? and The pressure of the barO is downward. It is provided with a sliding. hook, r,' having op, 11, Fig. 4, loosely located on said ha The rear end of bar 0 is turned up to prevent'loss' By catching the hook 1' over the lifting-lever B at different points, (and locking the pawl out of the'ratehet,) different degrees of elastic pressure may be exerted on the springs S S. The hook may be non-adjustable on bar 0. WVh he hook r is at the location shown in dotte lines in Fig. 2, but little pressure is exerted? If desired, the upper side of the lifting-lever may be corrugated to receive the hook 1. When desiring to use the lever B independent of bar (7, the hook 1' may be disehgaged therefrom, and the bar remains in position ready for use again. The

" lifting-leverB is connected with the cross-bar f by a bail, t, hinged to casting a of said lever.

As a means of locking the spring-pawl located in casting Z of lever B out of the ratchet R, I provide a dog, a, pivotally connected with lever B at G, or the end opposite its handle, said point of pivoting forming its fulcrum; A rod, (1, connecting with the pawl, is pivotally connected with an exfiended lug of the dog a at m, said point being 'adially removed from the fulcrum. Thus when the dog'is thrown down against the lever B in throwing the pawl out of the ratchet, as in Fig. 1, said dog is held in saidposition and the lifting lever remains free. beam is provided with a east-metal pocket or Each independent toothdish, I), having acenter bolt-hole, 0, the same I appearing in section in Fig. 5. The lower end of the coil-spring S sits detachably in the dish I), which holds said spring from displacement without any rigid connections with bar F. The upper end of spring S is formed into a center eye, a, upon which the cross-beam f is located. Bolts a a are located through crossbeam f, through eyes a, and through holes 0 of the dishes b, and thence through bars F F.

In constructing my cultivator I design to use two sets of tooth-bars and lifting-levers,

one each side of the drivers seat, as in other similar devices.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is- 1. The combination, with independentlyhinged tooth-bars, a spring on each of said bars, a cross-bar connecting said springs, and a connecting lifting-lever, of a spring-metal pressure-bar having the rearwardly-extendin g free end provided with the sliding hook, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of vertically-playing hinged tooth-beams, the tooth-beam springs, a lifting-lever and means connecting it with said springs, the spring-metal pressure-bar having the Sshaped slotted end, a curved seat therefor, and means for connecting the free end of the pressure-bar with the lifting lever, all substantially as described.

ing a spring-actuated pawl provided With an operating-dog fulcrumed to said lever, and connected with the pawl by a rod pivoted to the dog at a point radially removed from said 2 5 fulcrum, substantially as specified and shown.

3. In a wheel-culti vator, a lifting-lever hav- 4. Ina Wheel-cultivator, the combination of a lifting-lever and vertically-playing tooth beams with the S-shaped spring pressure-bar having the free end provided with the sliding hook, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination of vertically-playing tooth-bars and springs, a lifting-lever and connecting means, the spring pressure-bar, and an operating pawl-dog adapted for 'rais ing the pawl from the ratchet and holding it raised, substantially as described and shown.

6. The combination of the ratchet-casting having the curved seat, the lii'tinglever, and the spring pressurerbar having the slotted S- shaped end for adjustable location in said curved seat, and the rear free arm provided with the hook, all substantially as set forth.

In testimony of the foregoing I have herennto subscribed my name in the presence of two Witnesses.

LEBEUS GIIAPIN.

\Vitnesses:

\VM. ll/IILTON LEE, GEO. O. BYINGTON. 

